Industrial gnine

[Steve Bennett]

I really like the little Kato 4wheel pocket chassis (I think you used this one in your mockup?)

Yes, I did use the Kato, it seems ideal for this loco and runs so well too. The one problem might be that it is a little high, when I tried it under the mock-up, it did sit a little higher than I would have liked, but it is so far underneath, you cant really see it except at eye level. In case you didnt know, it is safe to remove the capacitor on top of the chassis, though you may get a bit of interference on the TV by doing so. Not a problem for you I'm sure, but you had better keep the wife happy

[ChrisMears]

I am thinking about the capacitor as a space-saver, but as you may well know, it might be much wiser for me to just cut out the floor a bit over the motor. Can't wait to get to working on this model later Should be ready for paint tomorrow...

Chris

[Colin Peake]

I am thinking about the capacitor as a space-saver, but as you may well know, it might be much wiser for me to just cut out the floor a bit over the motor. Can't wait to get to working on this model later Should be ready for paint tomorrow...

Chris

Personally, I have always made a cutout in the floor for the motor to sit in. I have also managed to use the clips on the chassis to hold it into place on all of my Kato-based models. I'll try and get a picture later.

Colin

[ChrisMears]

I've been adding some details and I think it's really starting to come alive, and simultaneously remind me of how hard it is to photograph white styrene under normal room lighting (yup, busted, I'm building on the dining room table again )



Anyway, here is the little loco from both sides...




Chris

[Simon Andrews]

Looks good Chris, I like that a lot

Simon.

[Steve Bennett]

Have you found another photo Chris, I didnt realise there were access doors on the other side only joking, thats a nice touch and makes it a lot more interesting to look at. Thats some nice styrene work you have done there, it has the charcter of the original, but has it's own individual style aswell. I'm really impressed with that handrail, it that made of styrene aswell, it looks like it. A great little model.

[ChrisMears]

Thanks for the kind words, looking at the model again, I'm not too impressed with the rivet detail along the hood; some sanding may be in order here as well. Styrene: yup, too lazy to dig out the brass and I like the speed of building in plastics, so everything so far is plastic.

Tonight I hope to get the controls worked out and maybe shoot some primer onto the thing.

Having a blast!

Chris

[Steve Bennett]

Styrene: yup, too lazy to dig out the brass and I like the speed of building in plastics, so everything so far is plastic.

Then I'm even more impressed, I can never get styene rod to bend that well, I presume you used heat to put the bends in it

I think the pedal in the centre, is what is known as a "Dead Mans Pedal" which as soon as pressure is released will stop supplying power to the motor, you might want to leave that off unless you have a figure with his foot in a suitable position.

[ian holmes]

I like it Chris;
I like it a lot

Ian

[michael]

Nice bit of model work there Chris I must admit that I'm partial to the curved sides, reminds me a bit of my own ventures into this Gn stuff what seems like eons ago now.

Hopefully I will be able to get back to the model bench in a month or so.

Michael

[Catweasel]

This is a sketch of a works track maintenance wagon that I'm working on.It's only 72mm long by 30mm wide. Overall height is 60mm. Building on a Bachmann Caboose underframe.

[ian holmes]

Darn:
You guys have been so busy.
I almost wish I wasn't on holiday

Ian

[More_Cats_Than_Sense]

That looks similar to something that I built in O-16.5

I do have 10 Bachmann Cabooses (Caboosi?) on the way

[Racing Hippo]

...Cabooses (Caboosi?)...

I believe it's "Cabeese"

[AndyA]

from an Irish barin Seville.

Ian wishes he wasn't on holiday. I must say that looking at what's ben going on, I'm feeling a bit the same way.

buena dia
Andy A

[Steve Bennett]

from an Irish barin Seville.

Ian wishes he wasn't on holiday. I must say that looking at what's ben going on, I'm feeling a bit the same way.

Make the most of your holiday Andy, it will be cold and wet back home in the UK soon enough, then will be the time to sit down and play.

Hope the Guinness isnt too warm out there in sunny Spain

[AndyA]

I'm not a great fan of Guinness, actually, but the bar by the cathedral had an internet terminal and it also had some of the local beer as well.

I fazed them a little by photographing the Cruzcampo crates, I think. I also found a very nice garlic box that I'll do up as a printy when I get time.

And I've come back with an idea for a Gnine layout, based on the box printy Steve did for me. If I say that it will feature scenery from smashed brick, that should whet some appetites, but I have a wagon to finish . However, the LBC loco of which Chris has made such a beaut will be usable in both gauges and I've got a new idea for the sea-wall on the pier module that I can try out on a gnine diorama, so I haven't really defected...

Steve, how do I order the resin box inserts?

regards
Andy A

[Steve Bennett]

Steve, how do I order the resin box inserts?

Ah, they kinda got put to one side when I got distracted by this Gnine stuff . I do have some around the place though, I'll contact you off group.

Good to have you back with us Andy.

[AndyA]

Thought a few people might like to see the work in progress on my brickworks locos. Last night whilst watching TV I lashed up two more in card, to get the look and feel.



At the back is the gnine version, same length as my original but narrower. It fits a little Lima chassis I got from ebay; not ideal but at the moment I can't justify the Kato. At the front is the version intended for my traverser layout: same width as the original, but shortened to the length of one of Steve's Sl100s, so that the shunting game can work exactly as per my original design. This fits the 34mm SPUD - again not ideal, but...

Looking at the photos, I think I'll narrow the gnine one by another few mil - this takes me back to where I came in, with a 'tall thin' loading gauge for mines with near-vertical seams. Now to have a hack at some quarter-tonne trucks for the same loading gauge...

regards
Andy A

[Steve Bennett]

Looking good Andy, I'll admit I wasnt sure you would be able to get it down to the same footprint as the wagon, but it works and the proportions look right, well done.

[ChrisMears]

I too was curious of how well the little LBC loco would work in "normal" Gn15, so I dug out a Bachmann 44tonner truck and tried it inside. I don't have a picture, but can make one if needed, but the little truck fits perfectly inside and would be my choice to power the model for 16.5mm gauge (with no modification to the model as drawn by Andy, save for moving the axle boxes).

I've got my little model in primer now, time to figure out a colour (and during my overtime on the weekend, I think I came up with a idea for a venue/layout for the little loco).

Chris

[AndyA]

Chris, I'd very much like to see a pic of your loco.

On the left here is my wacky attempt at thinning the gnine loco still further. It was useful as an exercise but at 16 inches wide I'm not sure that I can build believable wagins to go behind it (although it was a real nine-inch wagon of about this shape that started me along these lines last year).



However, I feel that I can believably narrow the clearances from 27mm to 20mm for my tentative attempt at a thin mine layout, at which point three tubs the length of Steve's Avalon Line one, but fiiting the loading gauge and looking a bit lower than the loco, will hold a respectable half-tonne or so. So a rake of three could fill a small 15" gauge Rugga via a tiny loading dock. (Yes, I'm still looking to the Alan Keef monorail as a guide, lacking any 'real' prototypes for what I'm thinking of.)

regards
Andy A

[Steve Bennett]

Interesting exercise Andy, would tend to agree, a bit too narrow to be believable. 20mm wide might just work, I guess another test build is in order

Your mention of the Keef monorails has reminded me that I took a few pics a couple of weeks back at the open day. As always they were difficult to photograph, squeezed in between other stuff. No time to sit down and edit the pics at the moment, so have put them on Photobucket in their raw state, you can see them here
http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b120/stephenbennett/Alan%20Keef%20Monorail/
Password as normal is "gnatterbox"

[ChrisMears]

Kind of fun to see your adventures with the little LBC loco Andy! I still haven't got any G figures yet (though I've bought some FIMO and look forward to trying my hand, at, er, well, making hands and heck, whole people soon), so it's really great to see a driver standing in the cab of your loco.

Last night I shot a couple of coats of paint onto my own model, and tonight may get some detailing and maybe even some weathering in. If all goes well, I may have a decent set of update pictures to share soon.

Great fun as always; I should get back to the things I came into the office to do.

Chris

[Steve Bennett]

With apologies to Chris here, I think I might have found a better option than the Kato mechanism for this loco. This is what lies under the skin of a Lifelike 0-6-0.


The camera angle and lens distortion does make it look too long, but it does fit neatly into my paper mock-up. Where this one scores over the Kato, is that it is considerably lower in the area of the cab, meaning the cab floor can be lower, in turn bringing down the centre of gravity and the head height of the driver. I'm not sure if this applies to all these Lifelike mechanisms, but I found that removing the connecting rods and valve gear, gave quite a marked improvement in running quality, this one runs very well indeed. All the axles are gear driven and with a bit of extra weight on it, this thing has a lot of pulling power, far more than we are ever likely to need. For those that like statistics, in this stripped down condition, the length is 58mm, width across the cylinders, 22mm which could be reduced to 19mm if they were cut off and the height to the top of the motor, 26mm. For those not familiar with these loco's here's a shot with an unmodified one.